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Being an effective leader
The art of leadership has been and always will be the most valuable asset on Earth! Without it, no amount of money, resources or talent will ever achieve sustainable success for any organization. First step: Lead yourself first! Sometimes the most important and difficult person to direct is yourself which requires discipline, determination and internalization. There are numerous ways you can lead yourself! * Lead by example! As a leader you set the tempo that an organization will take and if done right will set the tone for how members within your organization interact. This is also impacts how your organization interacts with external groups based on their experiences with your leader! BEWARE as this can be a double-edged sword based on the fact that the one time you loose your temper might give the okay for others to emulate this behavior. "As a leader, you are 24/7. There can be no transgressions. Conduct yourself with the same level of discipline and maturity that you expect from others and you will get it!" - Young Entrepreneur Council * A few great resources for understanding your leadership strengths: ** StrengthsQuest is an excellent resource developed by Gallup that allows individuals to learn their top five strengths out of 34 categories. What is great about this resource showcases how your strengths play into your career, relationships, academics, leadership styles and community! Also useful is understanding what drives other members of your team and areas that can be shored up. Disclaimer there is a ten dollar charge using this service. ** A nationally recognized free version of understanding yourself is Myers-Briggs which offers 16 personality types. Here is a great free tool to take the test and an excellent analysis tool for understanding what it means to be an ENTJ, or whatever personality type you get. Second step: Cast Your Vision! '''You might have the team, and the tools to execute great leadership although without a vision, your team might be going in the wrong direction. A defining traits that separates leaders from from everybody else is that they know where they are going in 2, 5, 10 and sometimes 25 years from now! This creates a purpose, a plan of action, metrics to measure progress and most importantly how to communicate with others. * Invaluable to vision setting is communicating why your team lives will be better off for having achieved your vision! '''Third step: Lead others! Sounds easy enough, right? For many this is developing the interpersonal skills, which sometimes can be an art and science. * Understanding others | Often undervalued, is the ability to influence or persuade people to follow the journey that you have set forth. Understanding what drives people's fears, needs, wants, desires, and why they react the way they do offers great insight to a leader! In addition it's helpful for see a situation from perspectives other than your own. * Motivating others | The easiest way to get anybody to do anything is to make them want to act. By speaking in the language of their needs and wants and how this task will benefit them - i.e., "what's in it for them." * Empowering others | This allows leaders to expand their influence and create large impact. Encourage your followers to reach for their highest potential and to lead themselves (by you believing in them). If you can inspire one individual the impact they can have and help them get there it can, they will help you achieve you goals greatly! Great tools to assist you with leadership development! # Enable your Professional Development committee to assist in your personal, officer and chapter development! They can be a great resource to educating, and inspiring the various professional cultures within a chapter. # Attending Leadership Academy, a biannual conference that is developed around leadership development and tools to assist in the process. The skills can apply to your internship, co-op, chapter and even career!